Police have arrested an Australian national wanted in his home country for alleged paedophilia who has been living for five years with a Thai woman and her family in Pathum Thani.
Crime Suppression Division (CSD) police executed an arrest warrant approved by the Thai Criminal Court to detain William Petrie, 63, on Sunday at his house in Plaeng Yao district. He was living with a Thai wife, whose name was withheld.
Pol Col Patak Kwanna, the CSD sub-division 4 chief, said on Monday the arrest had been requested by the Australian embassy in Thailand. The suspect faces a charge of sexual abuse of children under 10 years old in the state of New South Wales, he said. Other details were not released.
The suspect told police he had been living with his Thai wife for about five years.
The woman told police she was not aware of his background and alleged crime. Mr Petrie took good care of the family and her relatives, she said.
He will be extradited to Australia under the 1911 extradition agreement between then-Siam and the United Kingdom. Currently, Australia does not have an extradition treaty with Thailand but as a member of the British Commonwealth the old treaty can apply.
